The season's first superbloom is exploding in this Southern California spot

Poppy jam: Thousands are flocking to the poppy display along Interstate 15 near Lake Elsinore, Calif. The image was taken on March 3, 2019, off the exit at Lake Street.

Poppy jam: Thousands are flocking to the poppy display along Interstate 15 near Lake Elsinore, Calif. The image was taken on March 3, 2019, off the exit at Lake Street.

Photo: Lisa Milligan

Photo: Lisa Milligan

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Poppy jam: Thousands are flocking to the poppy display along Interstate 15 near Lake Elsinore, Calif. The image was taken on March 3, 2019, off the exit at Lake Street.

Poppy jam: Thousands are flocking to the poppy display along Interstate 15 near Lake Elsinore, Calif. The image was taken on March 3, 2019, off the exit at Lake Street.

Photo: Lisa Milligan

The season’s first superbloom is exploding in this Southern California spot

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If they bloom, they will come.

California poppies are exploding in the Gavilan Hills flanking the eastern boundary of Lake Elsinore, inspiring thousands to descend on the region an hour’s drive east of Los Angeles.

In recent days, traffic along Interstate 15, which passes through the Riverside County town, has often come to a standstill with people wanting to photograph the eye-popping floral display (see photos above).

“We’ve had a huge influx of people,” says Jonathan Reinig, the natural resources manager for Riverside County Parks. “There’s traffic everyday from it. The county says it’s their most accident-y time of year.”

Rain is a key ingredient in the recipe for spectacular wildflower displays. Amid a winter marked by strong storms, botanists predicted wildflowers would pop up across the state, especially in Southern California because the desert landscape has fewer invasive plants and grasses that push out wildflowers.

Lake Elsinore is the first place to see a so-called “superbloom,” a colloquial term describing wildflower spectacles that exceed a typical season.

The bloom started the last week of February and now the hillsides are carpeted in velvety orange.